The Latino Comics Expo is the nation’s first convention dedicated to highlighting the work of comic book creators, illustrators and others in the literary and visual arts whose work reflects the influence and celebration of Latino culture.

Founded in 2011 by Bay Area arts patron Ricardo Padilla and Los Angeles cartoonist Javier Hernandez, the Latino Comics Expo has been held at the Cartoon Museum of Art (San Francisco), the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library at San Jose State University and the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach).

Since it’s debut show on May 7 & 8 in 2011 in San Francisco, the Expo has hosted a wide variety of creative talent from the world of comics, web comics, illustration and design, political comics, graphic novels, children’s books, filmmakers and animators. Veteran creators, newcomers, independent artists, scholars, female, male, LGBT. All have contributed to making the LCX the premiere showcase for Latino pop culture in all it’s various mediums.

In addition to our vibrant exhibit hall where attendees can meet one on one with the creators, the LCX is known for it’s wide variety of panels and workshops. Topics have included self-publishing, crowdfunding, Latina Power, individual author spotlights, historical presentations, scholarly studies, workshops for kids and more. The Expo is a place to celebrate creativity, to educate, inform and learn, and to be able to share the richness of our various Latino cultures.

The first Chicago Art Book Fair (CABF) will showcase emerging directions and diverse legacies within small press arts publishing. The fair will feature an international group of approximately 100 arts publishers, small presses, book artists, comics artists, zinemakers and printmakers. The CABF will connect artists and publishers with each other and to a public audience, through programming, workshops, and of course through the temporary book market that serves as the fair's focal point and main gathering space. CABF will be free and open to the public.

We’re excited to be hosted by the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library located at 101 East Franklin Street.

In addition to providing an accessible space to the various communities in the City of Richmond, the Main Branch is also home to The People’s Library of Richmond and many other exciting programs that enrich and highlight our diverse, urban, and historically and politically vibrant city.

Applications for tablers for the 11th Annual Richmond Zine Fest will open July 1st. This year the tabler notification and payment process will be handled differently. It will no longer be on a first-come-first-served basis.

On August 1st, tablers will start receiving acceptance emails. Applicants must pay within 10 days of notification. If we hear nothing from you or don’t receive payment, we will notify someone else on the waitlist and you will go to the bottom of the queue.

Keep checking our website, Facebook, and/or our twitter account for up-to-date information about what’s planned for this October and other events through the summer, including our fundraiser to raise more money for print stipends!

Richmond Zine Fest organizers prioritizes the voices and presence of zine makers who are black, POC, LGBTQ, and/or have disabilities.

For all general and media inquiries, please contact us at zine.fest@richmondzinefest.org.

From paper and paste to hip hop samples and glitching, collage is a long-standing strategy for exploring, exploiting, and reordering visual and sensory culture. Collage has appeared in wildly distinct forms across all the major art and culture movements of the 20th and 21st century, from surrealism to riot grrrl to net art. This exhibition is open to femme artists of all genders working across all disciplines, with a specific emphasis on video, sound, and works on paper.

Join me at the opening reception for Wild Cuts. The show closes on August 12.

Zines offer a unique way for libraries to expand their print connections and connect with their communities in a time when so much of our work is going digital. Handmade publications that can cover any subject, many zines represent perspectives rarely covered in other print media. Their celebration of print culture may seem anachronistic, but zines offer a range of programming opportunities for youth and adults alike. This pavilion includes Zine creators, librarians who manage zine collections and a display of topical zines which will be raffled off to a library at the close of the exhibits.

If anyone knows how to party it’s us nerdy printmakers! No seriously, we turn ten this year and are letting our hair down. We’re throwing a party so big it takes over the entire Hubbard Street Lofts and spills out into the parking lot.

We’re proud to have accomplished so much and want our friends to celebrate with us. Join us on Saturday, June 3, 12pm – 5pm as we gift our friends, family, and neighbors a day of printmaking competitions, games & prizes, hands-on art projects, studio tours, member art sale, food & refreshments.

For our ten-year anniversary, we’ve created ten hands-on printmaking projects and friendly art-making challenges that will give you an understanding of what Spudnik Press Cooperative is all about. Learn about a variety of print processes while watching professional printers pull prints while blindfolded – both educational and highly entertaining. Then get a little inky yourself by completing in our all-ages (and experience levels) Audience Printing Dashes.

To keep you fueled for the festivities, we’ll have food on hand with meat & vegetarian options, iced coffee, cold beer, and DJ Pickled Beets (Jenny Greene and Ian Dinsmor) spinning vinyl. You’ll need your energy as you try to get a B.I.N.G.O. (ah-hem P.R.I.N.T.) by getting a screenprint tattoo, letterpressing your own birthday card, viewing our member exhibition and much more.

A suggested admission of $15 ($5 for kids/students) directly supports the Equipment Fund, a special fund set aside to help the community press maintain their rare presses and bring new tools and equipment to the shared workshop. Donate $25 and save 10% as you stock up on Spudnik merchandise and score a reusable shopping bag that you get to print yourself in the Spudnik Press studios!

Spring is here and the flowers will bloom as boldly as the coroplast signs announcing the hottest-of-the-hot real estate opportunities and open-houses galore. With them, the ambitions of the creative class often pave the way for the investment class to foist cranes into many a busy bike lane and impose more formulaic zombie urbanism into our storied cityscape – transforming large swaths of neighborhoods into veritable open-air shopping mall entertainment complexes, while other areas remain tragically under-resourced. Colorful histories are literally and figuratively painted over with zeal in the cold yet fashionable flat grey of 21st century corporate urban renewal.

It is in context of the ongoing resistance to a hubris-in-chief who made a name developing real estate (among other problematic ventures), an endangered national art fund, a pushback against "art-washing", and a world dividing further and further along spatial and cultural lines, that this exhibition gains a necessary urgency.

Standards Variance is a group show of speculative proposals around what is possible for urban space (empty lots, abandoned buildings, storefronts, green-space, etc.) in Chicago.

Something radical?Something practical?Something fantastical?

What would it look like? What would happen there? How would it function? What needs or wants might it help fulfill that perhaps aren’t currently being addressed?

Standards Variance considers what the future might hold for urban space in this new era of volatile market optimism, political turbulence, and widespread uncertainty. It seeks to open a discussion around speculation of land, resources, and real estate – typically centered on economic outcomes and future profit potential – toward a more expansive and inclusive set of concerns derived from a grassroots level. This project is not necessarily against development – but it is, in many ways, anti-developer.

The participants were invited to devise alternative forms of “speculation” that are rooted in a local right to self-determination: the latent desires, aspirations, and needs of communities. Such perspectives are often overlooked, ignored, or given lip-service in top-down, bureaucratic urban planning and “placemaking” – where real estate developers, planners, markets, and governments are not adequately accountable to residents. This unjust lack of voice becomes especially devastating in the many urban neighborhoods dealing with gentrification and displacement.

Standards Variance enlists the creative thinking of artists and non-artists alike to imagine alternative notions of urban space that are perhaps more egalitarian, useful, critical, inclusive, accessible, or progressive, while at the same potentially utopian, whimsical, anti-commercial, experimental, absurd, far-fetched, etc. The proposals needed not consider any limitations in budget, zoning, availability of space, feasibility, or the laws of physics. We recognize, embrace, and indeed hope that this would yield a wide variety of incongruent or conflicting proposals, whose differences would reflect something of the diversity of our communities as well as the different modes of commitment to them.

The centerpiece of Standards Variance is an installation of 30+ speculative proposals mounted around the gallery on custom-built displays. A rotating selection of the proposals will be visible in the storefront's large picture windows, subtly mimicking the property listing arrays often hung grid-like in realtor office windows. Supplementing these displays will be a modest library of source material available to peruse, as well as takeaway objects collected specifically for this exhibition. Opportunities will also be provided for visitors to craft their own responses and proposals into the mix. At the close of the exhibition, a digital publication, complete with essays by the organizers, will be released to document all the proposals and other content generated during the run of the show.

Chicas Bonitas is an all-female exhibition bringing together the work of 75 artists. Exhibit includes regional, national, and local youth artists and will be on display at La Retama thru April 29. Proceeds benefiting youth art camp scholarships and Friends of Corpus Christi Public Libraries. Join us April 29 for our closing Pachanga! #ChicasBonitasCC is curated by local Chicana Artist, Mayra Viviana Zamora, "Mira.Mayra.Art"

Join EXILE for the 2017 Miami Zine Fair in partnership with University of Miami’s Special Collections and O, Miami Poetry Festival at the Lowe Art Museum. The Miami Zine Fair will feature over 150 local artists, writers, publishers, and activists gathered together on the University of Miami campus, with an educational symposium hosted by the University of Miami’s own Special Collections. Celebrate our city's dynamic print culture, and explore zines from an expanse of independent self publishers and small presses. Get to know local zinesters as you browse the fair, and enjoy live printing, performances, multilingual workshops, and events throughout the day.

It is free to attend and participate. Interested in having a table? Please sign up here! https://goo.gl/dIQTB0

As part of the FATVillage March Artwalk, we're hosting an opening reception for Julia Arredondo's solo exhibit "Mystery Show". The exhibit is free and open to attendees of all ages.

Julia is a zinemaker and artist who currently lives in Chicago and runs the independent publihing entity, Vice Versa Press. By utilizing scraps from leftover prints and zines, Julia has created a new body of work that explores concepts of re-use through collage and screenprint.

Have all of those Don't Text Him signs annoyed you over the past few months at The Depot? We hope so!

Come celebrate the end of Julia Arredondo's show at The Depot with a mass art blowout sale as we take the art off the walls and sell each piece one by one. First come - first served make an offer and it's yours.

PLUS Vice Versa Press will be on-site with a new line of DON'T TEXT HER merch alongside zine classics and printed goods. Come drink mocktails or martinis and dance the night away with us as we prepare for the new year.

Climb the steps in ye olde warehouse to the 3rd floor (or ride the elevator) and shop our wares which include zines, art prints, clothing, accessories and MORE! Each week we'll welcome new artists to set up shop in the space, so stay tuned for more info on the guest list.

See you soon at the shop Grand Opening on December 3rd where we'll have bevvies and freebies. BYE!

Lighten up your Black Friday with some alt-giving! Stop by LATITUDE for an evening of zine buying, trading, and making hosted by November’s Artist in Residence Nathan Pearce.

Several zine makers will be present to show off their wares. The evening will also include a live demonstration of zine production. YOU are invited to bring zines that you have created to trade, sell, or share! There will be lots of zines for both share and sale, so be sure to come by and participate in the community spirit.

Do you feel haunted by the specter of the "starving artist"? Do you feel cheated out of stability, self-confidence, control by a sense of discord between "art and capitalism"? Do you have trouble talking about money?

Art + Value is a series of conversations that will address different aspects of how artists and artistic labor are valued in Chicago today. We hope to create space for Chicago artists to speak openly about how we are compensated and recognized, and how to feel more able to advocate for our work. Our four topic-focused events will begin with a roundtable followed by open conversation.

Conversation #1: The Ecology of Artist-run spacesSunday, November 133-6pmComfort Station, 2579 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647In this informal ‘audit’ of Comfort Station, participants will be asked to consider what value the space brings and what it owes to different communities, what audiences are most important, and what role it plays in gentrification. While considering Comfort Station as a test case, this conversation is an invitation to address broader trends and questions facing artists working in and with communities across the city.

Conversation #2: Laws, Contracts, DefinitionsMonday, November 145-8pmCorner, 2912 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL 60618Consider how we can be empowered by legal definitions, explicit expectations, and clear terms of service. Explore what relationships to institutions would look like if everything were more clearly out in the open. Discuss the philosophical and emotional weight of a contract.

Conversation #3: Art vs. CapitalismThursday, November 176-9pmIn House, 3520 W Armitage, Chicago, IL 60647While young artists manage to simultaneously over-professionalize and under-prepare for the real world, people in other creative fields such as entrepreneurship or technology, easily talk about the relationship between creativity and capital. While we learn to challenge established notions of success and strive for alternatives to the market, we also internalize shame and fear of money.

Conversation #4: Affective LaborSaturday, November 196-9pmHume, 3242 W Armitage Ave, Chicago IL, 60647Artists are often charged with doing the emotional work of society and are often uncompensated for this labor. This conversation will range from addressing how social justice work, psychological support, teaching, and diversity training figure into the job descriptions of artists, to self-care, to rationales for non-monetary compensation. Come ready to discuss identity, diversity, social justice, feminism and more.

Let’s hear it for the home team! At Spudnik Press, this fall Homecoming highlights recent work by our very own varsity team: 2016 Members!

Whether they rally for relief, shout for screen printing, get loud for letterpress, idolize intaglio, or revel in riso, Spudnik Press is a second home for printmakers from all corners of Chicago. Year ‘round, hundreds of artists come to Spudnik Press for space to grow their practice and produce fine art prints. Work produced here goes back into the community, to activate and inspire.

Each fall, Spudnik Press welcomes back a selection of artwork made right here for our Member Exhibition. Representing the diverse themes and media active in our studio, Homecoming highlights the exceptional work being created by our Members day-in and day-out. It opens space for dialogue between images, and between people: our members, alumni, and guests. Just steps away from the presses where they were made, these prints showcase the processes and prodigies of Spudnik Press.

Come celebrate our supportive, vibrant community at events including an Open House, a Print Sale, and a Closing Party. Plus, for the nostalgic, a self-serve photo booth (complete with printerly props) invites Homecoming guests to make memories that will last a lifetime!

The Dia de los Muertos celebration has gone on for centuries in Mexico. By presenting the Dia de los Muertos festival in Corpus Christi we provide educational programming about our cultural diversity and an opportunity for each of us to learn about this rich cultural tradition of Mexico. We hope to create a connection to our past, as well as honoring loved ones who have passed away. We invite all all to come be a part of this amazing cultural festival!

El Dia de los Muertos Street Festival is now in our ninth year. We have expanded from a single block party to include ten blocks in downtown Corpus Christi on Starr, Peoples, Chaparral, Taylor and Mesquite streets.

We have 3 stages with live entertainment: one for popular latin-influenced music, one for more traditional cultural performances, one for up-and-coming Texas bands. Our Kids’ Corner includes craft activities, games, and a rock-climbing wall supplied by Kidz Ultimate Party Zone. Student Art Associations from TAMUCC and Del Mar College provide demonstrations for the event. Plus, we have the enormous Hecho-a-Mano Art Expo featuring many Dia de los Muertos themed craft items, jewelry, and artworks by over 90 vendors.